Beginners guide to elliptical workouts
The Cross Trainer Elliptical workout is very appreciated for its benefits on your body: it’s a full body workout that tones various muscles in your arms, legs, thighs and buttocks while allowing you to burn a maximum of calories and lose weight. How to use the cross trainer properly and efficiently? Discover all our tips and advice to workout effectively, have the right position on your elliptical trainer and get the most out of your exercise.
You will also find 5 free cardio workouts for elliptical trainer for beginners and advanced to lose weight and gain muscle!
1) Right position on the elliptical trainer is must
Position of the back. Make sure to have your back straight and look in front of you. Do not look at your feet while working out because you would then round your back. Do not shrink and keep your shoulders up while training to avoid neck pain.
Position the hands on the handles. Place your hands on the handles on the heart sensors (no need to tighten). Do not put your hands too low, this may cause you to lean forward, which is not good for your back.
Position and movement of arms. When you use the outer handlebars (the moving ones), you also work the upper body and the arm muscles by accompanying the movement of the legs (see the section on the benefits of the elliptical bike below) while your legs and buttocks are mostly working when your hands hold the motionless handlebars in the center (and your arms therefore remain immobile).
Position of the feet. Keep your feet flat on the pedals. Push the pedals downward with your heel so that you do not strain the front of your ankle and avoid injuries, then raise your heel when the pedals go up. It seems complicated but it is in fact almost natural when you are working out on your elliptical trainer!
Movement of the legs. The movement of the legs must be fluid and as the name of the cardio machine indicates it "elliptical", that is to say form an ellipse (or a flattened circle). The legs must therefore go forward and descend at the same time and then go backwards by going up slightly and then repeat the cycle. It is not simply a flat or front-to-back linear movement. You have to get used to it at first but then it comes naturally.
2) The benefits of the elliptical bike
It is advised to exercise 2 to 3 times a week for 30 to 45 minutes in order to really see the effects and benefits of the elliptical trainer on the body! The WHO recommends doing at least 1hour and 15 minutes of intensive sport per week (this is a minimum!).
a) The crosstrainer to gain muscle!
The elliptical bike has the advantage of working all the body, especially the legs, thighs and buttocks as well as the arms, abdominal and back muscles. It is important to know that you will develop your muscle strength during high resistance exercises. When resistance is low but your training is relatively long, you mostly improve your endurance. To increase your muscles, you need to increase the resistance of your crosstrainer, for example during an interval training! Basically, no pain, no gain ;).
Crosstrainer Elliptical Bike which muscles work
- The muscles of the lower body (red in the diagram) are working continuously, namely the glutes (buttocks), the hamstrings (just below the buttocks), the quadriceps (on the front of the thighs) and the calves (at the back of the thighs).
- The muscles of the upper body (yellow in the diagram) working when your arms are moving (hands on the moving handlebars) are: the biceps and the back muscles when you are pulling the handles, triceps and pectorals when you are pushing the handles, abdominals and pecs that you use to keep the balance.
- If you want to target the buttocks and thigh muscles, remove the hands from the moving bars and place them on the bars at the centre (on the non-moving handles). If you also increase the resistance, it is perfect for the thighs and buttocks (you will also feel it!).
- When you pedal backward (reverse), you also work all these muscles but in a different way and you tone abdominals and glutes. When you pedal backward without holding the handlebars, your abs and back muscles work harder to keep your balance.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: For those who want to refine their silhouette and tone buttocks, thighs and legs muscles, don't worry: your thighs or your legs will not double in volume! The elliptical bike is not a bodybuilding machine but a cardio machine! It will allow you to lose fat and tone your legs, thighs and buttocks. In addition, the results appear gradually, not all of a sudden. So, you must persevere to see the results ;).
Our advice. Vary to spice up your workout! A little pedalling forward, then a few minutes pedalling with the hands on the handlebars at the centre, then a bit of pedalling backward, etc. (see below the cardio workout programs with practical exercises).
b) The cross trainer for weight loss!
How many calories are burned on the elliptical trainer? The number of calories burned mainly depends on the intensity of your exercise and therefore the power you provide which itself depends on your speed and the resistance of your elliptical machine. If you go very slowly at a low resistance, you will burn much less calories than if you move fast with high resistance. The calories we give here are therefore an indication.
c) The elliptical trainer for rehab
The elliptical trainer is a relatively smooth sport without shock and jolts, which makes it in many cases a cardio machine suitable for rehabilitation, but you should discuss that with your doctor or your physical therapist in that case.
Do you want to start your Elliptical Classes?
We have everything in place for everyone, our gym is sanitised after every session. For those not ready or uncomfortable coming to classes in person we have an online workout program to View Here.
Reachout to our team and know more about the elliptical training classes HERE!